STANDISH, Maine – Freshman forward Haley DaGraca (Saco, Maine) netted three goals to help lift Saint Joseph's College (3-4-0) past New England College (3-5-1), 6-1, in a non-conference women's soccer contest at Westerlea Way Field on Sunday afternoon.

With the Monks on top, 2-1, DaGraca took over the game, as the freshman phenom scored all three of her goals in a matter of five minutes and 41 seconds early in the second half.

Junior Desiree Parent (Westborough, Mass.) put the Monks on the board early with a strike off a Hannah LeBlanc (Andover, Mass.) feed just 1:40 after the opening whistle. LeBlanc netted her first of two goals on the afternoon at the 20:01 mark with sophomore Sarah Comtois (Lowell, Mass.) earning the assist.

The 2-0 cushion remained until halftime and just beyond, as the visiting Pilgrims cut their deficit in half with an Emily Gubbins (Westmoreland, N.Y.) goal in the 49th minute. Jessica Barnum (Hartland, Vt.) and Jess Dowson (Winthrop, Mass.) were both credited with assists on the tic-tac-toe strike.

DaGraca almost singlehandedly lifted the Monks to victory by scoring thrice, converting a natural hat trick starting with a marker off a Comtois helper at the 50:17 mark. The first-year standout potted her second 3:16 later off a Stacy Anuszewski (Clarksboro, N.J.) pass and capped the impressive effort with an unassisted tally at the 55:58 mark, making it a 5-1 contest.

LeBlanc closed out the victory with her fifth goal of the season in the 72nd minute. Freshman Colleen Sheehan (Medway, Mass.) was credited with an assist on the hosts' sixth goal of the afternoon.

In goal, sophomore Brooke Troup (East Bridgewater, Mass.) earned the victory after making three saves in 62:09 of play. Senior Michelle Cunha (Enfield, Conn.) made a pair of stops in 27:51 of shutout relief. New England freshman keeper Kayla Pugliese (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) made three saves before being lifted in the 62nd minute in favor of sophomore Katelynn Brewster (Stillwater, N.Y.), who made two stops in 28:16 of relief.

Despite the lopsided score, Saint Joseph's held only slim leads in both shots (15-14) and corners (3-2) on the afternoon.

Saint Joseph's will host University of Southern Maine Wednesday at 4:00 PM while New England College travels to Southern Vermont for a 4:00 PM non-conference contest on Tuesday.

BEYOND THE BOX:

• With the win, Saint Joseph's remains undefeated (4-0) in the history of the series with New England College
• LeBlanc's goal in the second minute of play is the Monks' earliest strike since Danielle Daigle '15 scored 23 seconds into the game versus Albertus Magnus College on September 27th, 2014
• Today's scoring output is the most by St. Joe's since the Monks netted six against Rivier University on October 14th, 2013
• DaGraca's three-goal performance is the first by an SJC player since Ashley Beaulieu '14 netted three in a win over Anna Maria College on September 25th, 2012
• Although DaGraca's hat trick performance in 5:41 was very impressive, it is not close to the fastest three-goal effort in NCAA DIII history; this record belongs to Mallory Koula of Lawrence, who incredibly netted a trio of goals in just 42 seconds versus Beloit on October 15th, 2011 (scored at 26:36, 26:54 and 27:18)
• The Monks' scoring effort today nearly matched the team's total through six games (8) this fall

UP NEXT:

• Saint Joseph's is 10-15-1 all-time versus Southern Maine, including a 1-0-2 mark over the last three meetings; the Monks and Huskies dueled to a 1-1 tie in Gorham last fall, the first deadlock in the history of the series
• USM is 2-3-0 this season and most recently suffered a 7-0 setback at the hands of Keene State College on Saturday
• The Huskies have been shut out in each of their last two matches and have not scored a goal in nearly 220 minutes of play, dating back to a 5-0 win over Thomas on September 12th

 #GOMONKS

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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.